TENS of thousands of Jobcentre, benefit office and pensions workers will launch a 48-hour strike today in a bitter row over pay which could spread to other government departments and the police.

Up to 80,000 staff at the Department for Work and Pensions will walk out in protest at the imposition of a three-year pay deal which union officials said will mean a pay freeze for 40 per cent of workers next year.

The Public and Commercial Services union warned of "significant disruption" to services because of the stoppage, predicting office closures and problems for new benefit claimants.

Disputes over pay are also brewing in the Home Office and among civilian staff in the Metropolitan Police, the union warned. General secretary Mark Serwotka said DWP staff were angry at the three-year deal, worth an average of one per cent a year, which would see the lowest paid receiving a rise of 24p above the national minimum wage.

He claimed the department was giving bonus pay worth £39 million to staff, but the lowest paid would only receive £340 while senior employees will get £3,000.

Mr Serwotka said staff morale was at "rock bottom", adding: "This is a dispute the government and the department could have avoided, but instead they have provoked staff into strike action by imposing poverty pay on a workforce that has already experienced massive job cuts."